Cigarroa falls to Pioneer, still winless

Alex Guzman and Cigarroa were shutout for the third time in four games Friday against Valley View.

Alex Guzman and Cigarroa were shutout for the third time in four games Friday against Valley View.

Photo: Cuate Santos /Laredo Morning Times

Photo: Cuate Santos /Laredo Morning Times

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Alex Guzman and Cigarroa were shutout for the third time in four games Friday against Valley View.

Alex Guzman and Cigarroa were shutout for the third time in four games Friday against Valley View.

Photo: Cuate Santos /Laredo Morning Times

Cigarroa falls to Pioneer, still winless

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With the season winding down, Cigarroa had three games left to claim its first win of the 2018 season.

Through the first seven games of the year, the Toros had chances to get a win. However, they let those opportunities slip through, such as the Roma game on Oct. 11 in which they led 10-3 with two minutes left in the game but lost 17-10 in overtime.

Thursday night at Shirley Field, Cigarroa had the chance to claim its first victory as it took on the Pioneer Diamondbacks. Yet the Toros suffered the same fate they have experienced all year — a loss. They fell to the Diamondbacks 28-7.

With the loss, Cigarroa’s losing streak extends to 10 straight dating back to last year — the Toros’ previous win was Oct. 19, 2017 against Valley View. Not only that, but Cigarroa (0-8, 0-4 District 16-5A-2) now has two games left to avoid a winless season. The last time the Toros didn’t win a game was in 2009.

“It weighs on you,” Cigarroa head coach Carlo Hein said. “There’s no doubt about it. This is something as athletes and coaches that we take with us for the rest of our lives.

“It’s a process but at the same time it weighs on you heavily to get them a win before the year ends. There’s no doubt that the sense of urgency has been there, but as we get closer to the end of the season, the burden gets heavier and heavier.”

With the victory, Pioneer is 5-3 overall and 3-1 in District 16-5A-2.

While Cigarroa suffered another defeat, it also lost another starter due to injury. Junior running back Pablo Salazar went down after his second carry of the game. After that, he was on the sideline with his arm in a sling. With the injury, however, it allowed receiver Alex Guzman to shine.

Guzman was a bright spot in the Toros’ struggling offense. With Salazar out, Guzman moved to running back and ran for 73 yards on 13 carries while picking up Cigarroa’s lone touchdown. Guzman also had three catches for 26 yards.

“We knew he was capable of that,” Hein said. “He has been slowly coming back from an injury — he was out for about a month. He can run and catch the ball well. It was fun to see him play today. We look forward to see what he can do when full healthy. We just hope we can get more production out of him these next two weeks.”

Entering the game, the Toros planned on using a two-quarterback system. But at the end of the night, Hector Solis was the main signal-caller for Cigarroa. The sophomore finished the game 9 of 15 for 97 yards.

“It was pretty much what we expected out of Hector,” Hein said. “He made some plays but made some mistakes. He is raw. His reps were cut when he was playing secondary and receiver. But he does make some plays. If we can polish up some of the things that can be improved upon, there’s no telling what he can do.”

Fellow quarterback Rudy Ramirez went 1 of 2 for 10 yards.

Pioneer scored first when quarterback Jacob Rosales found receiver Diego Benavides on a 31-yard pass on a broken coverage play to get down to the 1-yard line. Rosales would punch it one play later on a quarterback sneak to put the Diamondbacks up 7-0 with 1:11 remaining in the first quarter. Scoring would subside for a bit until Rosales completed a 4-yard touchdown pass with 6:04 left in the first half. Pioneer went into halftime up 14-0.

After a scoreless third, the Diamondbacks would extend their lead to 20-0 after scoring in the fourth quarter on a fourth-and-goal situation. However, Cigarroa would respond with a 33-yard touchdown run by Guzman with 5:34 remaining in the game a few drives later after the Toros forced and recovered a fumble. Yet Pioneer responded as well with a 70-yard touchdown pass by backup quarterback Eddie Marburger. The Diamondbacks would then convert a two-point conversion to put the contest out of reach with 4:45 left.

“I was excited that we cut their lead to two scores, but then you get that shot in your gut with that big play,” Hein said. “That’s frustrating. I thought the effort was great. We lost our center and running back tonight. We just had drive killers. We just shot ourselves in the foot offensively. Defensively, I thought we were good.”

Rosales threw for 108 yards, a touchdown and an interception while Marburger ended with 150 yards and a score. Pioneer would add 176 yards on the ground.

Cigarroa hits the road next Friday in search of its first win as it visits Mercedes (3-4, 2-1) for a 7:30 p.m. matchup.

In other LISD action, the Martin Tigers will take the McCollum Cowboys Friday at Shirley Field while the Nixon Mustangs will play host to the United Longhorns on Saturday.